NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5998B
SPONSOR: Simon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to notice of adult
care facility closure requirements
PURPOSE:
To require the department of health to notify state and county officials
of the expected closure of adult care facilities.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one adds a new section to the social services law that requires
the department of health to notify in writing the governor, the state
comptroller, the Attorney general's office, the members of the legisla-
ture that represent the facility and the county executive of the suspen-
sion or revocation of an adult care facility's operating certificate.
Section one also requires the department to post on its website notice
of the closure of the facility and what individuals or groups will be
impacted by the closure. Section one also requires the department to
notify the aforementioned parties when an adult care facility voluntar-
ily surrenders its operating certificate.
Section two states the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
When the Department of Health closes an adult care facility for violat-
ing health and safety standards, there is currently no requirement that
they notify state and local officials of the impending closure. The
obligation to notify falls to the operator of the facility, an entity
that has already proven to be irresponsible because their facility is
being closed, creating situations where state and local officials are
given only one or two days' notice that an adult care facility is going
to be shut down and the residents displaced. This bill's commonsense
solution is to require the Department of Health, the state agency clos-
ing the facilities, to notify state and local officials of the closure
as soon as they notify the facility. The department must also post on
its website a summary of the violations from the facility and who is
likely to be impacted 30 days prior to the facility's closure. This will
ensure that all relevant parties are aware of the impending closure and
have adequate time to assist residents and constituents with finding new
care and accommodations.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A10560 Simon -referred to rules
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5998--B
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 25, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the
Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to notice of adult
care facility closure requirements
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
2 461-v to read as follows:
3 § 461-v. Closure of adult care facilities. 1. In the event that the
4 department revokes or suspends or intends to revoke or suspend or other-
5 wise limit the operating certificate for an adult care facility, the
6 following shall apply:
7 (a) The department shall provide copies of all written materials
8 pertaining to the action including, but not limited to, the hearing
9 notice and notice of charges served upon the operator of such facility
10 to the governor, the office of the state comptroller, the office of the
11 New York state attorney general, the justice center for the protection
12 of people with special needs, and the members of the state assembly and
13 the state senate representing the municipality in which the facility is
14 located.
15 (b) Copies of all written materials shall also be concurrently deliv-
16 ered to the chief executive officer and the presiding officer of the
17 local legislative body of each county, except a county wholly contained
18 within a city, town or village in which the facility is located and, in
19 a city with a population of one million or more, also to the community
20 board in whose district the facility is located.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06735-05-6
A. 5998--B 2
1 (c) During the thirty-day period prior to the hearing date, the
2 department shall post on its website:
3 (i) a summary of the violations at the adult care facility;
4 (ii) an explanation of the groups or individuals likely to be impacted
5 by the closure; and
6 (iii) a summary of the facility operator's plan to ensure continued
7 care for all residents to be impacted.
8 2. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this
9 section, the written materials provided in subdivision one of this
10 section shall not be subject to disclosure under article six of the
11 public officers law. Such written materials shall not include any indi-
12 vidual identifying information.
13 3. In the event that an adult care facility surrenders its operating
14 certificate, the department shall provide a copy of such facility's
15 closure plan and a copy of all written materials in its possession
16 pertaining to such closure to all the parties listed in paragraphs (a)
17 and (b) of subdivision one of this section. Such written materials shall
18 not be subject to disclosure under article six of the public officers
19 law and shall not include any identifying information.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
21 the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
22 closures of adult care facilities occurring on or after such effective
23 date and to all closures of adult care facilities pending on and after
24 such effective date. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
25 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
26 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
27 completed on or before such effective date.
